Tanning obsession leads to rise in skin cancer

EXPERTS have warned that “tanorexia” — an obsession with being tanned — is leading to a rise in skin cancer, which is now the most common form of the disease.

New figures from Britain show skin cancer is the fastest growing form of the illness and the Irish Cancer Society (ICS) here said its growth rate in Ireland is not far behind.

More than 5,800 cases were diagnosed here last year and this has been increasing at a rate of about 50 a year over the past 10 years.

Figures released by Cancer Research in Britain yesterday show 8,939 cases of malignant melanoma were diagnosed in 2004, compared with 5,783 cases in 1995 — a jump of 43%.

The rate is still far lower than that in Ireland, when the size of the population is taken into account.

ICS health promotion officer Eimear Cotter said: “We are seeing the effects now of when people started going on sunshine holidays about 30 years ago and it became fashionable to be tanned.

“In a culture where tanning is so popular, people are sunbathing and using sun beds at the same time. We are going to see a lot more diagnosis down the line, and people will be getting younger as well, and this will create a big public health problem.”

Many Irish people are prone to ignoring advice about the potential damage they are doing to their health. A recent survey showed just a third of people wear sun protection. Ms Cotter said: “We have all heard the stories of people getting scalded. There is a sense that they are just taking risks to get a tan, but also aren’t fully aware of the damage they are causing.

“Also, the effects are not immediate and people don’t suffer the consequences until later in life. So it’s like drinking and smoking, when it is not causing immediate harm, they don’t see the problem.”

People also think if their skin is darker, they do not need protection. But recent research in the United States found that people with dark skin suffer a more aggressive form of skin cancer.

Sunbathers are advised to apply sunscreen of at least factor 15 regularly, to stay out of the sun between 11am and 3pm, to make sure not to burn and check any changes or unusual moles with a doctor promptly.

Such is concern about skin cancer in Britain, the “mole patrol”, a team of dermatologists, are patrolling beaches in Cornwall offering free mole checks to sunbathers.